Banking and fintech marketing in Dubai
Cards, campaigns and brand systems that bring in customers.
A Mashreq branch in the rebrand system. Mashreq Bank, Mashreq Rebrand System
Bank marketing has to do two jobs at once. It has to explain a product to people who are cautious with money, and it has to give them a reason to act.
As a bank marketing agency in Dubai, we have run rebrands, product launches, campaigns and activations for Mashreq and Emirates NBD across brand identity, B2B content, product design and live brand experience. We prefer to run this as a retainer, because customer acquisition compounds with every quarter of consistent effort.
What clients say, and the awards for this work
Almost Impossible have been an outstanding agency partner throughout our work together.
Benazir PoonawalaSenior Vice President, Head of Marketing & Customer Experience, MCG - Customer Experience Unit, Mashreq BankMashreq Bank, Cards of HopeRead the full testimonial
Almost Impossible have been an outstanding agency partner throughout our work together. From the Mashreq Sustainable Cards initiative to a range of other strategic projects, they brought genuine creative ambition and a willingness to challenge convention. What truly sets Jobi apart is his ability to think beyond the brief, he never treats a creative brief as just a creative brief. Instead, he walks through the entire customer journey, and that approach is what makes his thinking and creative output so distinctive. That mindset flows through the whole team, and it’s why they integrate so naturally with us. They don’t just execute briefs, they help shape them. The result is marketing that feels bold, purposeful, and truly aligned with where Mashreq is headed.
Awards and shortlists
1 shortlist
Results from the work
- 2.5M
- new cards issued after the card redesignMashreq Bank, Cards of Hope
- 29%
- increase in revenue from a social-first B2B campaignMashreq Bank, The Art of Not Selling
- 12M
- video views for a B2B thought leadership seriesMashreq Bank, The Art of Not Selling
- About 1 in 4
- new GEMS teachers became Emirates NBD customersEmirates NBD, School of Engagement
- 19.5M+
- media impressions from a fraud-awareness activationEmirates NBD, The PopCon
- 13M
- campaign impressions from the COP28 standMashreq Bank, Mashreq COP28: Earth 2 Earth
The Cards of Hope collection
Each card in Cards of Hope carries the story of a vulnerable UAE species, on Mashreq debit and credit cards made from 100% recycled plastic.
From product to customers
- 01
Product
Design the thing customers hold: the card, the account, the app screen.
- 02
Brand system
One identity that every segment and team can apply without drifting.
- 03
Content
Campaigns and B2B content that earn attention before they ask for anything.
- 04
Activation
Meet customers where they already are, and give them a reason to sign up.
- 05
Measure
Report results each quarter and carry what worked into the next campaign.
Card launch: Mashreq Cards of Hope
A launch starts with the product, not the campaign. For Mashreq's sustainable debit and credit card redesign, the cards moved from virgin plastic to 100% recycled plastic, and we made that story visible on the card itself: endangered UAE species on the front, an AR layer that tells their story, and a route into the Emirates Nature-WWF Notice Nature programme.
Customers talked about it. Mashreq issued 2.5M new cards, the campaign reached more than 11M customers, and over 11K cardholders signed up to Notice Nature.
The same thinking applies to a new account, a savings product or a banking app: one clear idea, shown the same way in branch, in app and in the street.
- 11M+
- customers reached
- 48+
- tonnes of CO₂e saved a year
Bank customer acquisition through activations
Activations let a bank meet customers where they already are. For Emirates NBD, the School of Engagement turned GEMS Awareness Day, where between 1,700 and 2,400 new teachers arrive each year, into five consecutive years of games, hosts and conversations with the bank's team.
It worked as customer acquisition, not only awareness: Emirates NBD signed up about 1 in 4 of every new intake of GEMS teachers.
PopCon was a fraud-awareness social experiment in a cinema. We sent the audience a convincing fake reward SMS; 90% clicked the link, and the reveal film passed 3.3M views within days.
- 90%
- of the PopCon audience clicked the fake SMS
B2B banking content for CFOs that does not sell
Corporate banking is bought by finance leaders, and finance leaders ignore adverts. For Mashreq, The Art of Not Selling was a social-first B2B thought leadership series: unscripted conversations with the CFOs of large UAE companies, with no product demonstrations and no sales agenda.
The series drew 12M video views with a 98% view-through rate, and its C-suite audience grew by 42%. For the bank, inbound corporate banking enquiries rose by 23% and revenue by 29%.
- 23%
- more inbound corporate banking enquiries
- 33%
- growth in closing assets
- 47%
- growth in closing deposits
Bank rebrand and brand governance
Banks need identity systems that hold up across many teams, segments and countries. The Mashreq rebrand system set one group master brand guideline, two country guidelines and 12 segment identity systems, with sonic and ident guidelines alongside them and governance so that the work stays consistent as teams change.
We prefer to keep that system working on a retainer. The same team owns the brand, the campaign calendar and the activation programme, and each launch learns from the one before it.
- 12
- segment identity systems
- 2
- country master brand guidelines
- 1
- group master brand guideline
In a client’s words
What stood out was their ability to engage each CFO individually, understand their story, and then weave those perspectives into a broader, cohesive narrative for the series.
Georges YaryuraSenior Vice-President, Head of CIBG & TGM Marketing I Marketing and Communication Group, Mashreq BankMashreq Bank, The Art of Not SellingRead the full testimonial
Working with Almost Impossible on the Mashreq Masterclass series has been a defining part of bringing this platform to life. From the outset, they demonstrated a clear understanding of the narrative we wanted to build, elevating the role of CFOs and creating a space where their perspectives could genuinely take centre stage. What stood out was their ability to engage each CFO individually, understand their story, and then weave those perspectives into a broader, cohesive narrative for the series.
This was never a templated approach. Each episode felt intentional, tailored, and true to both the individual and the platform we set out to create.
Equally, their professionalism on the ground is exceptional, structured, calm, and highly effective in bringing everything together seamlessly on the day.
A strong combination of creative thinking, narrative discipline, and execution excellence, delivering a series that not only resonates, but truly brings financial leadership into the spotlight.
Relevant work
turned thought leadership into inbound corporate banking enquiries.
View case study
redesigned debit and credit cards around a sustainability story customers could see.
View case study
built one group brand guideline and a separate identity system for each segment.
View case study
designed a sustainable stand that became the most visited at the event.
View case study
ran a fraud-awareness social experiment inside a cinema.
View case study
ran an awareness day that grew into a five-year school relationship.
View case studyCommon questions
Do you work with regulated financial brands?
Can you run campaigns across the UAE?
How do you measure banking work?
Do you take on one-off projects or ongoing work?
Planning banking or fintech work? Tell us the product and the goal.